We got a sneak peek at Continental’s two new tubeless Terra gravel bike tires back at Sea Otter, but hadn’t heard anything for months. Now details are dropping on the German-made Terra Speed & Terra Trail gravel tires. Still available in only a few, more narrow sizes, these two all-new tread designs expand Conti’s capacity to hammer out some fast gravel road riding on both 650b & 700c wheels…
Continental Terra Speed & Terra Trail gravel bike tires
The first pair of real gravel road tires from the German tire maker, the Terra Speed & Trail are built around a scaled down Revolution Tubeless Ready casing with ProTection layer adapted from the mountain bike: with 3-layer, 60tpi per layer sidewalls & 4-layer, 60tpi per layer under the tread.
They also share what appears to be a tubeless bead from their recent TL road tubeless tire for easier sealing and higher pressures. (And also rumored to comply with an upcoming ETRTO road tubeless standard, that we hope to hear more about at Eurobike next week!)
The gravel tires are only available at a top-level spec for now, featuring Conti’s premium Black Chili rubber compound and are handmade in Korbach, Germany. Unlike pretty much every other off-road tire in the Continental line-up these two new gravel tires appear to use a non-directional tread pattern for more versatility.
The Terra Trail was designed as a premium all-conditions dirt road & gravel road tire with blocky, elongated hexagon tread blocks. Those lugs are tightly spaced in the middle for fast rolling, then open up more with molded-in sipes towards the shoulders for cornering grip over loose surfaces.
The Terra Speed as the name suggests is meant to be a faster rolling tire for riding on more hard surfaces. The tread blocks are again essentially the same hexagonal shape, just scaled down and more tightly spaced. Horizontal sipes are located in a chevron layout across the entire tread width to provide predictable steering & braking control as the tire is leaned through corners.
Size options, pricing & availability
The slightly more aggressive Terra Trail comes in 40mm widths in either 650b (440g) or 700c (460g) diameters.
The faster rolling Terra Speed is available in a more narrow 35mm width & 40mm wide, again in both 650b (390 & 400g) or 700c (400 & 420g).
All sizes share the same casing and same 58€ price tag, and are available from today through bike shops and online retailers. We’ve only seen all black versions, but the new Terra tires are also said to be offered in a ‘cream’ tan wall version, as well.
